More Random Things I'm OCD About

I made a list back in July (see here) of a few things I'm OCD about...I've realized over the last couple of days that there are lots of other weird things I do. So of course, I wanted to share them with you fine folk! haha.

Here we go:

1--following my handwashing routine. I have to pump the soap into my hand, wash my hands, and shake my hands three times into the garbage can to get excess water off. Then, I pull down three pumps' worth of paper towels, dry my hands, use the paper towel to wipe off any water on the paper towel handle, and dump the paper towel in the trash.

2--putting mail in a mailbox. I hold the mailbox door open and down, letting the mail rest on top of it, then spread the mail out to verify all envelopes have an addy and a stamp. There have been times I've been tempted to actually open envelopes and make sure I signed my checks, but I usually resist that impulse (not always, however).

3--checking for the car's headlights to be off. I'll check my car door two to three times to make sure the lights are off. I've actually walked away, then walked back to check again...like the car gnomes would have turned the lights on in the point-three seconds I was away.

4--making a mental list of homophones. every time I hear or read one (is that the right word, where they sound the same but have different spellings?), I make a mental list of it. I don't know why--it's not like I'm compiling a book or something. But I have to make a mental note of the word.

5--mentally typing. I often think in terms of how words look on a keyboard. Sometimes, I'll even move my fingers along when spelling out the word in my head, like I'm pretend-typing them. My goal is to find words that use all eight of my fingers once. And when I do, I make a mental list of those words, as well.

6--turning off dueling electronics. I can't have two sound-making electronics on at the same time. If the TV is on, I can't STAND when someone has a radio on in the other room. I can't even stand when the radio is on and the TV is on mute--I can almost hear the electronic hum of the TV, so it's no good. When I write, I usually put on my iPod and crank it up so I don't hear anything else...my new headphones really kill external sounds, which is a total blessing.

7--"clearing" the microwave timer. I can't stand when the microwave is left on 1 second left. If I see it, I'll cancel out of the job so it won't be on "hold" anymore. This will drive me insane, and it'll be all I see if I don't do it.

8--staring at dashes in the road. When I'm riding as a passenger in a car, I stare at the lines in the middle of the road. More specifically, my eyes jump to every other line.

9--lining up my flags/paperclips. I have to have symmetry in certain aspects of my life: when I put post-it flags on stuff, they have to be at the very edge of the paper, and all spaced equally apart from each other (same with paperclips and binder clips).

10--popping body parts. I have to pop certain parts of my body every day: knuckles, elbows, shoulders, knees, and jaws. I feel weird if I don't.

What about you? Any OCD tendencies to share? I know I'm not the only weird person out there...haha

Neurotic much?

I think a lot of people have obsessive compulsive disorder to some degree. We all have certain things we do compulsively that the average person may think is a bit...off. haha. Here are some things I'm totally OCD about:

--I clean my ears several times a day. Yes, I know this is bad for you, but I swear, my ears actually start itching if I don't use a Q-tip. I get twitchy when we run out of Q-tips and have to go to the store to restock.

--I check my alarm clock well over a dozen times before going to bed every night. After all, what if this was the ONE night I only checked it 5-6 times, and I set it wrong?

--After I lock the car door or the house door, I check the doorknob/door handle a couple of times to make sure it's actually locked. I'll literally check, then pull my hand away, then check again to make sure I wasn't wrong the first time.

--When venturing out in the evening (and sometimes, even in the AM), I've actually gone back in the house to make sure the stove is shut off. Doesn't matter if I didn't cook anything, because what if the house burned down due to my forgetfulness?

So, what about you? Anything you're crazy-OCD about? Share with the class...